The Swords of the Samurai
by Rogue Leader Solo
Summary: A young priestess hires a legendary Samurai warrior to defend her village from the marauding bandits that have repeatedly attacked them. Will this living legend prove up to the task? Kyuzo/OC


THE SWORDS OF THE SAMURAI

**Chapter 1**

A young human girl walked through the crowded streets of the city. She was twenty in human years, had long dark hair, a beautiful face and violet eyes. Her clothes consisted of a peasant's tunic but she carried herself with dignity. All around her humans, robots, and other humanoid creatures walked around in the crowded market place. The girl looked around her as if she were searching for someone. As she looked she also would glance at the crystal she held on a string necklace. After an hour she arrived at a tavern. _This looks like a promising spot, _she thought to herself as she walked in. As the girl entered the tavern she saw people smoking, drinking, men flirting with serving maids, and her heart beat quickly as she saw that some of the men were carrying swords! _I finally found some samurai!_ She thought excitedly. She made her way over to a giant bear of a man with a blade wider than her body strapped to his back. "Excuse me samurai." She said.

The giant belched and tuned to her. "Waddya want?" he growled as he slammed down his tankard onto the table.

"I was wondering if you would be willing to take a job for me?" the girl asked.

The giant laughed and said, "That's rich, a peasant girl trying to hire a samurai. What's the job, girl?"

"The job is to defend my village from some bandits who are terrorizing us." The girl replied, "Will you do it?"

The giant leered, "What's th' pay?" he demanded.

"I'm afraid that my village has no money but we are prepared to pay you with all the food we can."

The giant laughed, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THAT IS REALLY RICH!" The other patrons turned and looked over at the giant and the girl. "YOU EXPECT ME TO WORK FOR FOOD! YOU MUST BE CRAZY TO THINK THAT ANYONE WOULD WORK FOR FOOD!"

The girl turned away, "I can see that you're not interested. Good-bye."

"NOW HOLD ON!" The giant grabbed her arm, "I ain't done with ya yet girl! Since ya can't pay me with money and ah ain't gonna work fer food how 'bout ya pay me with yer BODY!" he pulled her close and grinned evilly.

"LET GO OF ME!" The girl screamed, "HELP ME!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Nobody's gonna do anything girl." The giant laughed, "I work fer th' mayor and whatever ah wants ta do, ah can."

Just then the door of the inn opened and everyone fell silent. All eyes turned to see who it was. A tall man entered the inn. He had blond hair, storm-grey eyes, and an X-shaped scar on his left cheek. He wore a long red coat that was split at the bottom; twice in the front and once in the back. He also wore three swords on his back; two identical swords in a single sheath that had one sword at the left shoulder and the other at his right hip, neither sword had a hilt guard. The third sword was positioned at his right shoulder. It was an unusual sword; it had an elegantly designed hilt with alternating bands of black and metallic grey metal and a metallic grey metal hilt guard that looked like a straight fang; rounded on one side and pointed on the other side and a matching scabbard. On his belt were a pair of daggers; both on his left hip. The man looked around and saw the girl struggling to break out of the giant's grasp. The man walked over to the bar and said, "Tea." The bartender poured the man a cup of hot tea. The man took it, tossed some coins on the counter, and walked over to the giant and the girl.

"Please help me!" The girl pleaded.

The man looked the giant with an unreadable expression on his face and said to the giant, "I think that the girl wants you to leave her alone."

"It's not any o' yer business." The giant growled.

The man's expression didn't flicker, nor did he move away, "Was I not clear? I said that the girl wants you to leave her alone."

The giant snarled, "Ya better clear out." The giant grabbed his huge sword's hilt, "Unless ya want ta die."

The stranger didn't wait for the giant to move. The stranger acted; he threw his still full cup of steaming tea into the giant's face. The giant roared and flinched, releasing the girl's arm as he flinched. Moving quickly, the stranger picked up the girl and smashed through a window. He hit the ground in a roll and sprang to his feet muttering, "Great, just how I wanted to spend my day."

Behind them the giant roared, "GET THEM! KILL THE MAN!" All of the sword carrying bar patrons ran out after the escaping stranger.

The stranger glanced behind him and groaned, "You've gotta be kidding me. What did you do to get tall, dark, and ugly so mad?"

The girl replied, "I tried to hire him with food."

The man's right eyebrow rose. Suddenly he stopped. "Well here's as good a place as any."

"What do you mean? Why did you stop?" the girl asked.

The stranger set her down on her feet and said, "I'd rather not fight in a place filled with innocent bystanders." The girl looked around and saw that they had stopped in an open part of town that was empty. She turned and opened her mouth to speak but the stranger held up his hand to silence her and said, "Here they come."

The girl turned to see the giant and the sword carrying bar patrons running at them with swords drawn. The giant yelled, "KILL HIM! I'LL PAY BIG TA WHO EVER KILLS THA' MAN! BRING THA' WHORE TA ME!" The samurai formed a half-circle around the two fugitives.

The man said to the girl, "You might want to stand back." Then he addressed the giant and his lackeys, "No one has to die today. You can still turn away."

The giant snarled, "Wrong! Yer goin' ta die! And th' bitch will be mine!"

The stranger asked, "Have you no shame?"

The giant stared, "What?"

The stranger's face was one of contempt, "I'm amazed that you were ever called "samurai". You are no samurai; you're nothing but a drunken brute that shames all samurai, as do all who work for you." His right hand drifted to rest on his sword, while his left hand rose and grasped its twin.

The giant screamed, "KILL HIM!" With a yell, the samurai charged at the stranger.

The stranger simply sighed and closed his eyes, "You've gotta be kidding me."

As the other samurai charged, the stranger didn't move. He appeared to be waiting to be cut down. "LOOK OUT!" The girl screamed. Just as the samurai closed in and struck at the stranger, his eyes snapped open. Suddenly the bodies of the attacking samurai littered the ground and the stranger stood with his twin swords drawn with blood dripping from them. "_H-he's so fast, I couldn't even see him draw his swords!_" the girl thought and glanced at her crystal, which had suddenly taken on a bright white-blue glow, "_The crystal is reacting to him! Could this man be the one I've been searching for?_"

The giant stared with a grin forming on his face, "Well, well, skills ta match yer words. All dead in th' blink o' an eye. This should be fun."

The stranger spoke, "I did warn you. I told you that no one had to die." As he spoke, he slid into a ready position with his left sword held diagonally in front of him and his right sword held in the same position behind him, but in a reverse grip. The girl now saw why the swords had no hilt guards; the hilts were larger than the blades, forming natural hilt guards. By now a large crowd had begun to form and all eyes were watching the scene as it unfolded.

The giant asked, "Who are ya?"

The stranger replied in a flat voice, "Kyuzo Shimamura."

Some people in the crowd gasped. One older man in the clothes of a blacksmith said, "The legendary swordsman who was said to be unbeatable in the Great War! The man who is said to have killed and entire army by himself! The great swordsman Kyuzo Shimamura: The Blade-master."

The giant smiled and drew out his monstrous blade and the girl gasped, the giant's sword blade was jagged like a saw blade! "I've always wanted ta test me skills 'gainst someone like ya Shimamura." The giant laughed, "This be where ya die Kyuzo Shimamura!" The giant spit out the name like a curse.

Kyuzo's response was to flip his right sword over so that the blade was held normally and said, "Idiot."

"What?"

"You are not going to beat me." Kyuzo said, "So I give you a choice: leave me and the girl alone or die." The giant snarled, raised his saw-like sword, and charged. "You've gotta be kidding me." Kyuzo said, "You really do want to die." Kyuzo charged at the giant. The giant swung his sword in an overhand two handed chop only to find his sword blocked by Kyuzo's twin blades in an X-block. "I was right." Kyuzo said.

"What?"

"You're sword is crying out in pain." Kyuzo said, "It is tired of serving you, the person who destroyed it."

"Whatter ya goin' on 'bout, Shimamura?" The giant snapped. Kyuzo didn't reply, moving quickly, he forced the saw-like sword back and attacked so fast that his whirling blades were a blur of motion. Then suddenly he stopped and stepped back a pace. "What th' hell?" The giant said, "I didn't feel anything."

"That's because I wasn't attacking you." Kyuzo said.

"Whaddya mean?" the giant asked. Then a strange thing happened; the giant's sword shattered leaving him holding a hilt and half of his sword blade. "WHAT THA HELL DIDJA DO TA MA BLADE?" the giant screamed.

"I did what it asked me to do." Kyuzo replied. "I destroyed it."

The girl gasped "_He destroyed that huge sword like it was a dry twig! He's incredible!_"

The giant yelled, "I'LL KILL YA AN' TH' WHORE!" He swung what was left of his blade at Kyuzo. Kyuzo appeared to vanish and reappeared behind the giant, blood dripped off his two swords. The giant gasped in pain and stared at the parallel horizontal cuts on his chest.

"This is your last warning, let us leave or die." Kyuzo said, as he turned around and regarded the giant much as one would regard a foul smelling piece of garbage.

The giant whirled around screaming as he swung the remains of his sword, "DIE YOU BASTARD, SHIMAMURA!" The girl screamed as the giant's sword connected with… nothing!

"Up here" The giant, girl, and crowd looked up to see Kyuzo in the air swinging his swords back into a ready position. Then his swords were a blur of motion and Kyuzo was suddenly standing behind the giant. "I told you to let us go, did I not? To think that instead you would choose your own death."

The giant turned around and said, "HA! Ah didn' feel anythin'. NOW DIE!" He started to swing his sword at Kyuzo who didn't move. Kyuzo closed his eyes and smiled. The girl opened her mouth to scream but just before she did scream, the giant's arm fell off in three pieces. The giant screeched in pain, "IT HUUUUUUUURRRRRRTS! SO MUCH PAAAAAAAAIIIIIIINNNN!" The giant fell to the ground screaming incoherently in pain. The girl gasped as she saw multiple deep cuts all over his body, all were gushing blood.

Kyuzo turned around and looked at his fallen opponent who twitched and fell silent forever. He then turned away, knelt down on the ground, laid his swords down, and took out a small cloth and began removing the blood from his swords. The crowd seeing that the show was over began to leave except for the blacksmith and the girl. Kyuzo appeared not to notice them; he just continued to clean his twin swords. The girl and blacksmith approached and the girl asked, "Um, excuse me, great samurai?"

Kyuzo replied, "You want me to do the job that you were trying to hire him for. Am I correct?"

The girl nodded as the blacksmith asked, "Now what problem could a peasant have that would require the services of a samurai?"

Kyuzo put away his cloth and stood up, replacing his swords in their sheath as he did so, "This is not the place to talk."

The blacksmith spoke, "Well you can use my shop."

"That won't be necessary." The girl said, "I'm staying not too far from here. We can talk there." Kyuzo shrugged and walked after the girl.

They soon came to a lower part of the town where the poor stayed. The girl led Kyuzo and the blacksmith to a small cave like dwelling, one of many in the slums of the city. As they entered the cavern a young girl no more than ten years old ran to the girl yelling, "SISTER!"

The older girl smiled, knelt down, and hugged her younger sibling, "Hi, Luna. Did you miss me?" she said as they ended the hug.

Luna nodded and saw the blacksmith and Kyuzo. "Are they samurai, sister?"

The blacksmith chuckled and replied, "Oh no, I'm not a samurai, I'm just a humble blacksmith. This fellow here is a samurai."

He indicated Kyuzo, who nodded and said to the older girl, "Now what do you want with samurai?"

The girl sat down and said, "Please listen, my village has been terrorized by bandits for the past five years and we want it to stop."

Kyuzo asked, "Why not try to hire samurai before now?"

The girl shrugged, "Some people are afraid that no one can defeat the bandits. They are afraid that if the samurai fail, then we will all be killed."

Kyuzo sighed, "And you can't afford to pay with money so you're trying to hire samurai with food."

The girl nodded, "Will you please help us?"

Kyuzo sighed, "You tried to resist them before trying to hire samurai, didn't you girl?"

The girl stiffened, "My name's not 'girl'. My name is Sonia. Sonia Sky"

"Did you try to resist them before?" asked Kyuzo. The girl nodded. "Well at least you're not as spineless as I thought."

Sonia's face was one of rage, "Why you…"

The blacksmith cut in, "Calm down young miss. I think he was trying to compliment you."

Kyuzo whipped around grabbing his dagger hilts, "Someone's coming." Indeed, footsteps could be heard from outside.

A young man entered the cavern saying, "Sorry, but I couldn't find any sa…."

Kyuzo had both his daggers at the young man's throat. "Don't move if you value your life."

"STOP!" cried Sonia, "He's a friend!"

Kyuzo stared but did not move his blades. "Friend?"

"Yes, he is my companion for this journey." Sonia replied, "Please release him."

Kyuzo put his daggers away saying, "My apologies."

The young man rubbed his neck saying, "WHEW! I'm glad you listened to Sonia. My name's Ricky Hiroshika by the way. What's yours?"

Kyuzo didn't reply, he had frozen in place. Then he snapped, "GET DOWN!" Kyuzo shoved Ricky to the ground, jumped in front of Sonia, and grabbed something in the air.

"What is it?" asked the blacksmith.

"Trouble." replied Kyuzo as he tossed the object in his hand over his shoulder. The blacksmith caught it and gasped; the object was a long sharp thick needle. "Stay away from the entrance." Kyuzo ordered. "I'll be back." So saying he ran out the entrance in time to see two figures; one tall and holding out his arm from which a crossbow-like contraption was attached. The other figure was shorter and had a flat mushroom-shaped cybernetic head.

The tall one spoke, "So you're the Blade-master." Kyuzo didn't reply, he merely placed his hands on his twin swords.

"He doesn't look so tough." The short one said, "I'll kill him."

By now the blacksmith, Sonia, Luna, and Ricky had come out of the cavern and were watching the duel. "Uh oh." The blacksmith said, "Looks like you've caught the attention of Jimon."

"Who's Jimon?" asked Ricky.

"He's more or less the 'mayor' of this city and pretty much owns all of the assassins, samurai, and killers in this place." Replied the blacksmith, "Now hush, I want to see what happens next."

"What do you want?" Kyuzo addressed the pair of assassins.

"YOUR HEAD!" as he shouted the short one jumped and his arm shot out, revealing his machine arms. Arms that extended quickly with claw like hands that slammed into where Kyuzo had been standing.

"You missed." Both men spun around to see Kyuzo standing behind them with his swords in his ready position; left sword held normally and the right sword held in a reverse grip, both held at diagonals. The tall man fired a barrage of needles at Kyuzo who slashed through all of them.

"I've got to hand it to you." The tall one said, "You're good."

"I"LL KILL YOU!" the short one screamed, leaping at Kyuzo.

"Idiots." The blacksmith said in disgust.

"What do you mean?" asked Sonia.

"The battle is already over." The blacksmith said, "It ended the instant that he drew his swords."

"DIE FOOL!" the short assassin yelled. Kyuzo jumped at the assassin and slashed at him with his swords. "!" the small assassin screamed as both of his arms fell off in a small shower of shredded metal.

The tall assassin had started firing at Kyuzo the instant he saw him, but it was too late. Kyuzo ducked and sliced. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH" the tall assassin screamed as his arm fell off in a small explosion of metal and gears.

"I'LL KILL YOOOOOUUUUU, YOU BASTARD!" the smaller assassin screamed.

"How's he gonna do that?" asked Luna.

"Don't worry, young one." The blacksmith smiled, "No two-bit assassin can take down someone like him. Now watch."

Luna gasped as the short assassin fell on his back and shot out a leg that extended like his arms and a blade extended from his foot. The foot shot at Kyuzo, who nimbly jumped up so that the foot blade found a new target and plunged right into the heart of the tall assassin. Kyuzo landed on the extended leg and asked, "Did Jimon send you?" The small assassin spat defiantly and shot out his other leg. Kyuzo didn't bother to dodge; he cut the mechanical legs to pieces saying, "I'll take that as a yes." So saying Kyuzo sliced off both assassins' heads, sheathed his swords and started to walk back to the small group watching him.

Ricky gasped. "He's amazing. Who is he?"

The blacksmith replied. "His name is Kyuzo Shimamura."

"That name sounds familiar." Ricky said thoughtfully.

"It should be." The blacksmith said. "He was one of the best known warriors of the Great War. Rumor was that he wiped out an entire battalion of foes by himself in the defense of a civilian town."

"Are you serious?" asked Ricky in awe. "Then the bandits stand no chance against him."

Kyuzo spoke as he approached the group, "Get your things packed. We leave at nightfall."

"Why?" asked Sonia.

"This place is no longer safe for you." Kyuzo replied as he glanced around to see if anyone else was around. "Can you get your things to the airship landing pads without attracting attention?"

The blacksmith spoke up, "I can get them there without drawing attention."

Kyuzo looked at him in mild surprise, "How?" he whispered.

"My shop is close enough to the landing pads that we can get to the pads by using the back alleys." The blacksmith replied in a low voice.

Kyuzo addressed Sonia, Luna, and Ricky, "Go with him to his shop. Wait until nightfall, then go to the landing pads, tell the mechanic that your passengers on the _Strahl_. He'll take you to my airship."

"Which mechanic do we talk to?" asked Ricky.

"His name is Luke Stellar." Kyuzo replied.

"Can you trust him?" The blacksmith inquired.

"I saved his life ten years ago in the Great War." Kyuzo said, "He promised to repay me anytime I needed a favor."

"Um excuse me, Mr. Samurai." Luna said.

"Yes, young one?"

"How old are you?" asked Luna

"LUNA!" Sonia said in shock, "Don't ask such impolite questions!"

Kyuzo grinned slightly, "It's alright. I'm only twenty nine."

The blacksmith gasped in shock, "You're kidding!"

Kyuzo shook his head, "No."

"Then you were nineteen in the Great War!" exclaimed Ricky.

Kyuzo nodded then became serious, "We don't have much time. Get your things together. Follow the blacksmith to his shop. I'll meet you there."

"But where are you going?" asked Sonia.

"I'm going to arrange a little diversion." Kyuzo said over his shoulder as he walked out. "Wait for my signal." And with that he was gone

"Well come on." The blacksmith said, "Pack your things."

"But…" Ricky started to talk but the blacksmith interrupted.

"Like the man said, we don't have much time. Now hurry up." The blacksmith urged. "We need to be ready for Kyuzo's signal."

"What did he mean by signal?" asked Sonia.

"He's probably going to place those bodies where they'll be found very easily." The blacksmith replied. "When the confusion starts, we'll be able to get to my shop virtually undetected." Kyuzo's signal was not long in coming; multiple screams and cries of horror pierced the quietness of the afternoon. "That's our cue." The blacksmith ushered the peasants out the door. "Let's hurry. Stay close to me."

The group managed to slip into the crowds but they were spotted. A pair of greedy eyes gazed longingly out at Sonia from a coach. "I want her. Bring her to me immediately." A man's voice issued a command to his companion.

"As you wish my lord." The man's companion said. Stealthily a man emerged from the carriage. He was neither short nor tall, or fat or thin. His face was one like a weasel. A pipe was in his mouth and a long thin knife was stuck into his belt in a sheath across his front positioned so that the hilt was pointing to his right side. He wore a simple tunic with a brown cloak over it. Stealthily he crept up behind Sonia, who was at the back of the group. Suddenly he clamped a hand over her mouth as he dragged her to the coach.

Sonia struggled to throw off her kidnapper but was unable to break his grip. In desperation she bit his hand. The man grunted in pain and relaxed his grip for a fraction of a second. It was just long enough for Sonia to work her mouth free and scream, "HELP!"

"Quiet!" the man snapped, knocked her unconscious, and dragged her into the coach. As this was occurring, Ricky, Luna, and the blacksmith spun around in time to see Sonia dragged into the fancy coach and the coach drive swiftly away. "SISTER!" Luna shrieked and started to run after the coach only to be stopped by the blacksmith. "LET ME GO! SISTER'S BEING KIDDNAPPED!" She screamed.

"I know that!" The blacksmith said, "But you'll never get her back."

"WHY NOT?" Ricky demanded furiously.

"That was Jimon's coach." The blacksmith explained, "She's being taken to Jimon's house. The only person who has a chance of rescuing her now is…"

"Me." The three of them spun around to see Kyuzo standing behind them. "This is unfortunate." He said with a sigh.

"OF COURSE IT"S BAD!" Luna shouted, "MY SISTER HAS BEEN KIDDNAPPED!"

"Please quiet down." Kyuzo said, "It's unfortunate because now we need to accelerate our plans. Blacksmith!"

"My name is Nemo." The blacksmith replied.

"Nemo, if there's anything you want to grab from your shop, do it now." Kyuzo instructed, "I'll take Ricky and Luna to the landing pads and get them on board the _Strahl_. After that, I'll get Sonia and we'll get out of here."

"I don't need anything from my shop." Nemo said, "I'll come with you to rescue Sonia."

Kyuzo shook his head, "I can move faster by myself and Jimon's probably got a small army to defend himself. You'd only slow me down. Let's get to the landing pads" Kyuzo ushered the group to the landing pads where Luke Stellar met them. "Luke change of plans!" Kyuzo said, "One was kidnapped by Jimon. Get them onboard and make sure the _Strahl_ is ready for takeoff while I get changed and rescue Sonia."

"Gottcha Kyuzo!" Luke replied. Luke was a tall man neither skinny nor fat, but well muscled. He was dressed in a flight mechanic's outfit, had a tool belt that had an assortment of unusually shaped tools, and had a pair of welding goggles on his head. Luke led them to the _Strahl_. Ricky, Nemo and Luna gasped; the _Strahl_ was a sleek light transport with two bow mounted guns that extended in front of the cockpit; each was attached to a half –blade like structure for support, a forward cockpit, two powerful looking engine exhausts in the back positioned above a long, flat, arrow-head like structure. A large disk shaped repulsor-lifter was positioned on each side of the airship belly and extended out about half way. A boarding ramp and entry hatchway were positioned about halfway between the cockpit and the engine exhausts.

Kyuzo led them aboard and directed them to their sleeping quarters. "Stay here until I return with Sonia." He instructed, "Luke, finish the modifications and have the engines hot and ready when I return. Nemo, make sure that no one leaves." With that Kyuzo entered his own quarters and sealed the door behind him.

Sonia awoke inside a large bedroom with a headache and a state of confusion. "Wh-where am I?" She groaned, shaking her head in an effort to clear it.

"Your new home." A voice came from beside her.

Sonia whirled around to see a tall thin man who was staring at her hungrily. He had shoulder length black hair, a hawk like nose, and two eyes that caused her to shudder involuntarily; they stared at her as if he could see through her clothes. "What do you mean?" She said.

"You now belong to me." The man said. "Your old life as a peasant is over and you are now part of a new life."

"What if I don't want to be a part of your life?" Sonia demanded, "You had no right to kidnap me off the streets!"

The man smirked, "In this town I decide who has what rights and I have the right to get what I want and there is nothing you can do about it. I decide your fate and you have no say in it any longer."

"I might have something to say about that, Jimon."

Sonia and Jimon whirled to see a figure standing in the shadows. "Who the hell are you?" Jimon demanded, "How did you get in here?"

The figure in the shadows jerked a thumb over its shoulder, "Through the window." Its voice sounded oddly mechanical. "I suggest that you come with me girl if you don't like your present accommodations."

Jimon shouted, "GUARDS! INTRUDER! COME QUICKLY!" Armored men burst into the bedroom as Jimon flicked on the lights in the area where the concealed figure stood, revealing the hidden person.

Sonia gasped as light washed over the figure. It was clad head to toe in scarred blue and silver battle armor; the helmet had a T shaped visor which concealed the figure's face from view, the armor was split into plates to allow for maximum mobility, the boots had spikes on the toes, the armor plates looked as though they had seen many battles and had survived them all, and a jet pack was attached to the figure's back. The figure held a sword of unusual design; the blade was thin but was narrow at the base and wide at the tip, the hilt was curved and designed to be primarily a one handed weapon but could be held in a two handed grip. "Who are you?" she asked.

The figure didn't reply as the guards surrounded it. "KILL IT!" Jimon screamed. The guards attacked all at once. The figure simply moved in and cut down the three in front of him in a single fluid motion and escaped the circle as the guards collided with each other and accidentally killed most of their group. Only two guards remained alive.

"Idiots." The armored figure said in disgust, "Only attack with two at a time or you end up getting in each other's way. Basic group combat tactics." The figure turned to face Sonia, "Shall we go?" Behind the figure the two remaining guards were preparing to attack.

"LOOK OUT!" Even as Sonia began to shout her warning, the armor-clad figure half turned and raised the hand that held no weapon and pointed his arm at the guards.

WHOOOOOSH! A stream of flame shot out from the figure's wrist gauntlet and incinerated the guards before they could utter a sound, as well as igniting an ornate drape behind the smoldering remains.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" Jimon screamed, "GUARDS, GUARDS! PUT OUT THAT FIRE"

Sonia gasped as even more guards poured into the room as the fire spread. "THIS WHOLE PLACE IS GONNA BURN!" she shrieked.

"Then let's get going." The armored figure moved quickly and grabbed Sonia off the bed and ran at the flaming window.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Sonia screamed as the figure leapt through the window and they started to plunge to their deaths.

"Hold on tight." The armor-clad figure triggered his jet-pack's activator and their descent stopped as the two sped off through the night. "Are you alright?" the figure asked a few minutes later, as Sonia tightly clung to its neck. Sonia was too scared to reply, she nodded quickly with her eyes shut tight. "Good. Now hold on, we're coming in for a landing." The figure angled himself so that they rapidly descended outside the airfield. "Follow me quickly and stay silent."The figure set Sonia down and quickly walked past the security gate with Sonia in tow. Neither of them noticed that they were being followed.

Soon the pair reached a landing pad with an airship of sleek design. "Who are you?" Sonia asked.

The figure chuckled, "I'm Kyuzo, Sonia."

Sonia was dumbfounded, "But how did you…"

"I tracked the coach that took you after dropping off the rest of our little group here." Kyuzo explained, "I thought that something like this might happen but not nearly this soon. This is one time that I regret that I was right. Now you'd better get on board while I…" Kyuzo's voice trailed off as he noticed the squad of soldiers closing in on them. "GET ON BOARD NOW!" he shouted as he ducked a gunshot with inhumane speed. Terrified, Sonia ran up the entrance ramp as Kyuzo dodged another shot and threw a smoke grenade he had pulled out from his suit's utility belt. As the grenade released its noxious contents, Kyuzo bolted into the _Strahl_ shouting, "LUKE GET US OUT OF HERE!" The _Strahl _lifted up vertically and shot away from the city.

Kyuzo shut the entrance ramp and ran for the cockpit with Sonia right behind him. Luke dove out of the pilot's seat and into the copilot's seat just as Kyuzo leapt into the pilot's chair and grabbed the controls. As he piloted his ship away from the town multiple blips appeared on radar screens in front of both Kyuzo and Luke. "We got company, Kyuzo!" Luke said.

"I see 'em." Kyuzo said as he flipped on the intercom, "Everyone hold on to something tightly or strap yourselves in. Things are going to get rocky!"

Kyuzo accelerated just as Sonia sat down in the chair behind his, causing her to slam into her seat. "OUCH!" Sonia exclaimed.

"Buckle up girl," Kyuzo snapped as he pulled the _Strahl_ into evasive maneuvers to evade the pursuing ship's fire, "Or you'll be bouncing all over the place! Luke How soon until you can get the stealth field generator online?"

"Shouldn't take more than 10 minutes." Luke said as his fingers flew over the controls.

Bullets flashed by the _Strahl_. "We might not have 10 minutes!" Kyuzo said through gritted teeth as he pushed the _Strahl _to full speed. "If you can't get the stealth generator up then get the weapon's system online!"

"Right!" Luke hit a few buttons and a screen appeared in front of him. "Targeting and weapon systems are ready but they're too spread out for me to get them."

Kyuzo spotted a narrow canyon and angled for it, "Then let's get them to close up a little."

Sonia gasped, "You're not actually going to fly into that canyon are you?"

"Well they'd be crazy to follow us wouldn't they?" Kyuzo replied.

"Kyuzo at our speed will you be able to pull out before we crash?" Luke sounded nervous.

More gunfire streaked past the _Strahl_. "No time for arguments!" Kyuzo snapped, "Just hang on!"

The _Strahl _shot into the canyon with the fighters in hot pursuit. One fighter was too close to the canyon wall and clipped an outcropping. Spiraling out of control, it collided with one of its comrades; the result was a fiery explosion as the two ships vanished in an expanding fireball. The remaining fighters opened fire just as a small group of missiles shot out from the _Strahl_ and streaked towards the oncoming fighters. Unable to maneuver the fighters collided with the projectiles and were destroyed. "Direct hits on all targets! We did it!" Luke exclaimed, "Were home free!"

"Don't bet on it." Kyuzo said grimly.

"Why not?" Sonia asked.

"We took some hits and we need repairs badly." Kyuzo explained, "Fortunately we still have enough power to get to the next town. Once there we can relax a bit and get the repairs done." Kyuzo slowed the airship speed to a lesurely rate. "Luke take over, I'm going to get out of this battle armor." Kyuzo stood up and walked out of the cockpit.

"Luke how exactly did you and Kyuzo meet?" Sonia asked as she unbuckled her seat restraints. "He seems to trust you a lot."

Luke leaned back thoughtfully, "I met him during the Great War 10 years ago. I was in an engineering corps and my unit was attacked. I was the only survivor. Just as I was about to be killed, Kyuzo and six other samurai came out of nowhere and wiped out the enemy. Kyuzo personally took a bullet meant for me and even though he was injured, he still fought and saved my life. After the war I met up with him and told him that I was forever in his debt for saving my life."

"So that's why he trusts you?"

"No, I don't think that's the reason. I don't think that he trusted anybody besides his six comrades. I think that he knows that I will repay my debt to him whatever the cost."

"What happened to his friends? You said that he had six."

"Well actually I don't think anyone besides Kyuzo knows what happened to the other six." Luke said, "All I know is that the next time I saw him and asked about his friends, all he told me was that they died."

"Surely there were rumors though?"

"Rumors are not to be trusted." Luke replied. "And any records of the seven of them are either destroyed or never existed."

"What do you mean?" Sonia inquired.

"During the Great War there were unconfirmed reports of a group of seven samurai that defended the peasants no matter what side they were on. But shortly before the last battle, all rumors of them just stopped." Luke sighed, "Kyuzo won't talk to me about it. So you should probably give up."

"Give up on what?" Kyuzo said as he entered the cabin. He was dressed in his red coat again with his regular gear on; the twin swords, the twin daggers, and the single elegant sword.

"I was curious about your friends." Sonia said.

Kyuzo's face became unreadable, "They're dead. That's all there is to it."

Sonia snorted, "If that's all they are to you then you must not have really been their friend."

"YOU KNOW NOHING ABOUT THEM!" Kyuzo spat out the words, "We were brother's at arms! We stuck by each other until the end!"

"Then why don't you care about them?" Sonia snapped.

"That does it!" Kyuzo grabbed her arm and pulled Sonia to her feet. "Luke put her on autopilot and come with me, both of you." Kyuzo led them both to his cabin. "I don't know why I'm even bothering to show you this." He muttered as he opened the door and ushered them inside.

Sonia gasped in amazement and Luke was awestruck at the cabin's interior. It was neat and organized for the most part. But an entire wall was covered with pictures. There were seven pictures on the wall. Six of them were personal pictures with only one different person in each photo. The final picture was a group photo. Under each of the personal pictures, there was a sword mounted except for two pictures. Under one picture of a tall, thin, lanky man, instead of a sword, a spear was mounted. Under a picture of a medium sized older man with dark grey hair and a sober smile on his face who looked wise beyond his years, the wall mount was bare. "What about this man's sword?" Luke asked.

Kyuzo indicated the elegant sword on his back. "This was his."

"Who are these men?" Sonia asked.

Kyuzo pointed to the first personal portrait. It was a picture of an older dark skinned man with white hair and a white scar on the left side of his face. A cocky grin was stretched across his face. "This is Gorobei Katayama. He had superior awareness skills. He could cut a bullet in mid air and catch an arrow. When we formed our group he taught us to hone our awareness skills until we were nearly his equals." Kyuzo pointed at the next photograph. It was a picture of a smiling young man with a pair of engineer's goggles on his light brown hair. "This is Heihachi Rito. He was like you Luke, an expert engineer and weapon's designer. He managed to teach us some things and with those teachings, the seven of us built the _Strahl_." Kyuzo walked to the next picture. It was of a huge humanoid machine that carried a sword of tremendous size. Sonia shuddered the mounted sword reminded her of the giant that had attempted to abduct her. "This is Kikuchiyo Kuchki. He was a farmer who became a samurai. He taught the rest of us humility and humbleness." Kyuzo pointed at the picture with the spear under it. "That is Shichiroji "Shiroji" Kurosaka. He was brilliant at planning defensive maneuvers. Those skills of his saved many villages." Kyuzo pointed at the next picture. It contained a boy who was barely fifteen. He had dark hair and a youthful smile on his face. "This is Katsushiro Shihoji. Katsushiro taught us to never give up and to never lose sight of our goals." Kyuzo indicated the final picture. "That is Kambei Kodensha. He was an expert in offensive tactics and taught us all how to be true samurai. In fact he taught us so well that even Kikuchiyo could plan a perfect battle maneuver."

Sonia spoke up, "So each member taught the group something. So what did you bring to the group?"

"I was the weapon's master of the group. I taught them how to handle their weapon's to their full potential. Soon even Katsushiro could hold his own against me in a duel. The seven of us were like brothers, we stood by each other and helped each other in any and all possible ways."

25


End file.
